TRIATHLON TRIALS COMING TO MISSION BEACH

Place where sport was created will host event to pick U.S. Olympians

On Sept. 25, 1974, about 40 members of the San Diego Track Club congregated after work on Fiesta Island. Wanting to break up their long-distance running monotony, they devised a race involving swimming, cycling and running.

Car lights illuminated the finish line. A trash can served as the shoe depository for the bike-to-swim transition. Modestly, triathlon was born.

The sport has evolved into an international, multibillion-dollar industry with San Diego considered the sport’s athletic, cultural and business epicenter.

Come May 10-12, triathlon returns to its roots for the most significant race the city has hosted. The world’s best middle-distance triathletes will descend upon Mission Beach to compete in the International Triathlon Union (ITU) World Triathlon San Diego.

In essence, it’s the U.S. Olympic Trials for the 2012 London Games.

“It’s incredibly important,” said Bob Babbitt, co-founder of San Diego-based Competitor Magazine and recognized as the sport’s foremost historian. “Everyone (worldwide) who’s got a chance to be in London’s going to be here.

“They’re going to wake up that morning, not knowing if they’re going to be on the Olympic team and leave knowing they’re going to London. As a person covering any sport, we don’t like anything more than do or die and the emotions that go with it.”

The San Diego Sports Commission, which works to bring events to San Diego, hosted USA Triathlon members about a year ago. Rob Urbach, USAT’s chief executive officer, said five or six cities were considered to host the race.

San Diego’s triathlon history played a key factor in the selection.

“This is the mecca of the sport, the birthplace,” Urbach said. “This is the epicenter. That (played a factor), and the natural beauty. The course is going to look great on television.”

Olympic-distance races are comprised of a 1,500-meter swim, 40-kilometer bike and 10K run. The elite men’s and women’s races will be staged in Mission Beach with the two-lap swim course in Bonita Cove.

The eight-lap bike course will unfold primarily on West Mission Bay Drive and Mission Boulevard. The three-lap run course includes a stretch down the Mission Beach boardwalk.

“I’m surprised they got the course,” said two-time Ironman Hawaii champion Scott Tinley. “People have tried for a long time to get this amount of closed-end proximity.”

Since the triathlon was born in 1974, San Diego County has served as the sport’s hotbed. Eventual eight-time Ironman Hawaii champion Paula Newby-Fraser moved here from South Africa to live and train. Six-time Hawaii champion Mark Allen lived here. Olympic silver medalist Michellie Jones relocated from Australia.

Triathlete magazine is based in San Diego, as are numerous bike, clothing, wet suit and bike component companies.

Yet San Diego has never hosted a race of this magnitude. The problem, according to organizers, has been gaining cooperation from the city government.

“The difficulty in pulling something off is the number of organizations we have to talk to and gain some type of support,” said Al Kidd, president of the San Diego Sports Commission. “Community planning groups, people in traffic, the police department, merchants, churches making sure you’re not blocking a driveway too long.”